Hands on: I’m super impressed with the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s new Privacy Display

Maybe it’s a reflection of conscionable really slow hardware invention has been, but the Galaxy S26 Ultra’s caller Privacy Display, which limits the screen’s viewing perspective to support immoderate would-be peepers away, near maine wholly impressed.

It’s not a brand-new exertion — we’ve seen it earlier successful laptops — and it was leaked thoroughly earlier Samsung’s announcement. But seeing it activity connected the S26 Ultra for the first clip was cooler than I expected, particularly fixed that hardware thrills are difficult to get these days.

It’s not conscionable 1 of those typical surface protectors; you tin move it connected aliases off. There are 2 sets of pixels successful the display: 1 that projects the image consecutive up toward the spectator and 1 that projects ray disconnected to the sides, truthful you tin spot the surface from an angle. By turning disconnected that 2nd group of pixels, the surface looks fundamentally normal to the personification holding the phone, while looking very dim from an angle. Someone straight down you pinch a bully position complete your enarthrosis mightiness still spot a spot of what’s onscreen, but the effect is stronger conscionable disconnected to the sides.

There’s besides a mounting to make the effect moreover greater if you want to beryllium really judge cipher tin peek astatine what you’re seeing. I flipped the characteristic connected and disconnected while looking astatine the surface from an angle; it seemed to trim the image’s contrast, making matter very difficult to read.

What’s really cool is that successful existent Samsung fashion, you tin customize this a 100 different ways. You tin obscure only notifications arsenic they popular up astatine the apical of the screen, aliases person it automatically move connected erstwhile you participate a PIN aliases usage a circumstantial app. It tin besides necktie into routines, truthful you could person it move disconnected erstwhile you get location and move backmost connected erstwhile you leave. The effect useful the aforesaid measurement whether you’re holding the telephone horizontally aliases vertically, too.

Otherwise, the S26 Ultra is mostly a package update. The telephone is somewhat slimmer and lighter than its predecessor: 7.9mm heavy down from 8.2mm, and 214 grams down from 218 grams. Part of that weight quality is owed to a move backmost to aluminum from titanium arsenic Samsung follows Apple’s lead. It’s still a large phone, but it looks and feels much for illustration an S26 Plus Plus than thing wholly different.

Samsung has vanished the occupation it started a mates of generations ago, bringing the Ultra aesthetics successful statement pinch the regular S26 and S26 Plus. All hints of the boxy Note look are gone. The Ultra has the aforesaid curvature astir the corners arsenic the different 2 models. And erstwhile again, location are nary magnets built into the backmost of the instrumentality — those are supplied successful the lawsuit instead.

There is 1 much meaningful hardware update to the camera: Both the main 200-megapixel and 50-megapixel 5x zoom travel pinch somewhat brighter lenses, from f/1.7 to f/1.4 connected the main and f/3.4 to f/2.9 connected the telephoto. Every spot of other ray the lens tin present to the sensor helps, particularly for low-light photography, truthful this is simply a invited update.

But of course, there’s AI. It’s not rather arsenic bad arsenic I’d feared — Samsung added earthy connection generative photograph edits successful the assemblage app, overmuch for illustration Google offers successful Google Photos. You tin springiness it multimodal prompts, too, inputting different image arsenic a root and asking AI to blend the 2 successful a circumstantial measurement truthful it looks for illustration you’re holding your canine aliases wearing a different shirt. It’s a full batch easier to move your photos into their ain typical marque of AI slop.

The S26 bid will besides beryllium immoderate of the first phones to connection an agentic Google Gemini assistant. This is constricted to only a fewer apps to start, focusing connected ridesharing and market shopping. I caught a demo of the Uber integration connected the S26, and while it was very overmuch connected rails, it each appeared to activity arsenic it should have. You tin fto the AI activity successful the inheritance while you do thing other connected your telephone aliases you tin watch its advancement and interrupt if you spot thing spell awry. It’s still an early preview, but it’s a beautiful superior measurement toward the agentic AI early we’ve each been promised.

The S26 bid gets immoderate Pixel-like features, including Now Nudge, which provides Magic Cue-type contextual prompts correct successful the keyboard. If a friend asks you if you’re free connected a definite day, it’ll supply a shortcut to position your almanac aliases a nonstop nexus to an arena you person scheduled for that day. Samsung is besides getting scam discovery for telephone calls and AI telephone screening for chartless telephone numbers. Even Samsung’s Bixby sewage an update this year. You tin inquire it things astir your phone, for illustration really to set the surface a definite way, pinch earthy connection and it should springiness you improved thief successful uncovering what you’re looking for wrong the menus.

All versions of the S26 Ultra sold worldwide will travel pinch a Snapdragon 8 Elite Gen 5 chipset for Galaxy, tuned specifically for Samsung. The value stays the aforesaid this year: $1299 for 256GB of retention and 12GB of RAM. Given the RAM shortages, tariffs, and inflation, that’s astir the champion news we tin dream for.

Photography by Allison Johnson / The Verge